How to Turn Your Crisis into an Opportunity

By Dr. Charles Stanley of InTouch Ministries (click here for full article)

1. Trust that God is working everything in your life for your good.
   “We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28).
2. Believe that our heavenly Father is in control of everything.
   “The LORD has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all” (Ps. 103:19).
3. Accept that the Lord’s ways are higher than ours.
   “‘My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ declares the LORD. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts’” (Isa. 55:8-9).
4. Refuse to make quick judgments in the midst of a crisis.
   “Thus the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, has said, ‘In repentance and rest you will be saved, in quietness and trust is your strength’” (Isa. 30:15)
5. Focus on the Father instead of the crisis.
   “O our God . . . we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You” (2 Chron. 20:12).
6. Avoid dwelling on the pain.
   “Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence” (Ps. 42:5).
7. Recall past crises and the opportunities that followed.
   “They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the LORD was my support. He also brought me forth into a broad place; He rescued me, because He delighted in me” (2 Sam. 22:19-20).
8. Let go of your anger immediately.
   “Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity” (Eph. 4:26-27).
9. Submit yourself to God’s will.
   “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight” (Pr. 3:5-6).
10. Demonstrate a spirit of gratitude.
    “In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thess. 5:18).
11. Determine to view the trial as a chance to see God at work.
    “The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him. It is good that he waits silently for the salvation of the LORD” (Lam. 3:25-26).
12. Refuse to listen to unscriptural interpretations of your situation.
    “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. . . . The wicked have laid a snare for me, yet I have not gone astray from Your precepts” (Ps. 119:105, 110).
13. Remain in constant prayer, listening for the Father’s instructions.
    “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving” (Col. 4:2).
14. Do not give in to fluctuating emotions.
    “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Ps. 73:26).
15. Obey God and leave all the consequences to Him.
    “Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He will do it. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light and your judgment as the noonday. Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him” (Ps. 37:5-7).

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